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Deaths After Stampede at Kenyan School Due to Suffocation, Not Satanism: Catholic Cleric

Caskets of the deceased pupils at an interdenominational prayer mass held in Kakamega

By Magdalene Kahiu

Nairobi, 11 February, 2020 / 3:39 am (ACI Africa).

A week after 15 pupils lost their lives following a stampede at their school in Western Kenya, a Catholic priest ministering as a Chaplain in the university in the same location has faulted claims that the deaths were as a result of satanism and emphasized the post-mortem findings that the young learners died of suffocation.

A stampede occurred at Kakamega Primary School located in County of Kakamega in Western Kenya the evening of Monday, February 3 leading to the death of 14 by midnight, with 39 injured, two of them having been admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). An active member of the Pontifical Missionary Childhood (PMC) at the parish of All Holy Angels, Lutonyi in Kakamega, was among the dead.

One of the two who had been admitted in the ICU collapsed Monday, February 10 shortly after being discharged, with a family blaming the doctors for authorizing the deceased to return home right from the ICU when they could have kept her in the ward for further observation.

Against the backdrop of conflicting reports about the cause of the stampede, with some pupils narrating that the stampede happened after one of them tried to block a group that was going down the stairs on the third floor and was forced out of the way, some members of the public have argued that the deaths were a result of satanic powers from “churches which are of questionable practice” renting and using the school premises every Sunday.

According to Fr. Kizito Muchanga, speculations over what caused the deaths is orchestrated by some African traditional beliefs about the power of evil existent and operationalized in people.

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“If you understand the philosophy and mind of Africans, you will realize that nothing happens without a cause,” Fr. Muchanga told ACI Africa in an interview, adding that influenced by some traditional African religions, there “must be a person” behind all events.

Referencing a local politician quoted by local media fronting the satanism narrative, the Kenyan cleric said, “That is why Khalwale said that we mourn as we mention people.”

“The issue that the school is open on Sundays for many religious groups to pray in different classrooms, that does not augur well,” Fr. Muchanga who is the Chaplain of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) said and explained that people “believe some religious groups which are blood thirsty come in” and that “it is religious groups that go there that may have caused suspicion.”

The clergy of Kakamega Diocese argued in favor of the postmortem results that have so far indicated that the deaths were a result of asphyxiation, that is, a state of being deprived of oxygen that leads to suffocation, loss of consciousness, and eventually death.

“From a scientific point of view, when there is suffocation you don’t expect blood spilling,” Fr. Muchanga told ACI Africa Monday, February 10 responding to claims that the scene of the stampede did not seem to have blood.

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He added, “We have seen where there is stampede all over the world, then suffocation there is no blood spill.” 

An interdenominational prayer service was held at the school Monday, February 10, with religious leaders expressing their solidarity with the bereaved families and all those affected. The religious leaders appealed for action on the part of the government to prevent similar incidents in the future.

To avoid encounters that may lead to deaths in future, Fr. Muchanga recommended that the government does quality assurance in schools.

He also suggested that all schools have recruit Chaplains as this would help minimize “radicalized” sentiments. 

“If the school had a chaplaincy, we would not have this very radicalized sentiments that (have been) put across,” he said.

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Meanwhile, Catholic Bishops in Kenya sent a message of condolences to the grieving families stating in part, “We pray with you as you grieve the sudden death of your loved children.”

“In our faith, we trust that the children are in heaven in the presence of God and have got full life and joy with Him. They are in the safe company of holy innocents,” the Bishops added in their February 7 collective message.

The Prelates stressed on the importance of life saying, “Life is a precious gift from God that all of us have a moral duty to nurture and protect” and at the same time asked school administrations to pay attention to the welfare of children while they are in the learning institutions. 

On his part, the Local Ordinary of Kakamega Diocese, Bishop Joseph Obanyi joined mourners in his ecclesiastical jurisdiction, expressing his “cordial and sincere condolences” to the bereaved while encouraging them to “trust in God who consoles us in our sorrows.”

In a personal letter, Bishop Obanyi stressed the importance of children in the society saying they are a precious gift from God and therefore, they “must be nurtured, protected and cherished, for it is from them that we have a nation and a Church.”

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He urged stakeholders in learning institutions to pay attention to safety measures necessary to ensure a conducive and safe learning environment because the learners’ “safety anywhere is important.”

In an earlier interview with ACI Africa, a board member for Catholic schools in Kakamega county, Fr. Boniface Kibaki argued that accidents in schools occur due to “negligence and assumption of the teachers.”

“Teachers have been given all the manuals and Kakamega diocese we have child protection policy that we have given to every Church sponsored school and they are supposed to be implemented,” Fr. Kibaki said.

Security agencies have recorded statements from various stakeholders at the Kakamega school with the Western Kenya Regional Police Commander, Peris Kimani quoted in the local media saying that detectives were focusing on safety regulations in the process of establishing the cause of the tragedy.

Magdalene Kahiu

Magdalene Kahiu is a Kenyan journalist with passion in Church communication. She holds a Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). Currently, she works as a journalist for ACI Africa.